The Hurry Up: Catching Up with Dublin All-purpose Back Michael Drennen's Recruitment, 2021 North Carolina Quarterback Includes Ohio State in Top-12

By Taylor Lehman on February 28, 2019 at 6:30 pm
Michael Drennen
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The Hurry Up is your nightly dose of updates from the Ohio State football recruiting trail, keeping tabs on the latest from commits and targets from around the country.

Catching Up with Michael Drennen's Recruitment

Dublin Coffman head football coach Mark Crabtree told Eleven Warriors that Ohio Sate has "a couple things going for them" in regards to four-star Dublin all-purpose back Michael Drennen — the offensive system employed by the Buckeye coaching staff is one Drennen could fit into and quickly pick up and it's only 20 minutes away from his current high school. 

Drennen, one of the running backs Eleven Warriors predicted to eventually choose Ohio State on signing day, is a 2020 recruit — the No. 3 prospect out of Ohio — who can play at multiple positions. One of his most appealing attributes as a running back is his ability to catch out of the backfield and make people miss in space.

At 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, Drennen is in between the frame needed for a slot and a running back, so Crabtree said much of what will dictate where he plays in his future is his physical growth and development. 

At Dublin Coffman, though, Crabtree said he once planned to cement Drennen in the running back position but that his skills in space were too good to limit him to one role.

"After his sophomore year, I thought, 'Okay, this guy is going to be a running back,'" Crabtree said. "But then we realized his skills as a pass-catcher are just too dynamic, so we put him at slot a little bit, and now he kind of plays multiple positions."

Before he finishes his high school career, Drennen needs to work on improving his speed, Crabtree said. Even though Drennen has enough speed for his current purposes, it's never a bad idea to add more to any skillset.

"His speed," Crabtree said. "I really hope he develops a passion for that part of his development.

Dawand Jones Can Ball

Earlier this week, three-star Ohio State 2019 signee Dawand Jones was shown dominating Arsenal Tech for 40 points and 15 rebounds for his Indiana High School, Ben Davis.

Basketball was Jones' first love, as he needed to decide whether to play football or basketball, two sports he's proven to have success in. He had only played two years of football before committing to and signing with Ohio State for the 2019 class.

At 6-foot-8, 360 pounds with this type of athleticism, the possibilities seem endless for what Jones could do at the offensive tackle position with the strength and conditioning Ohio State can offer him.

Maye Includes Ohio State

North Carolina 2021 quarterback Drake Maye included Ohio State in his top-12 Wednesday night. Maye made a visit to Ohio State in November and is one of five 2021 quarterbacks with Ohio State offers.

Drake is the brother of North Carolina All-American senior forward Luke Maye, and his father played quarterback for North Carolina too.

Ohio State Targets on Social Media

The No. 37 prospect in the 2020 class, Clark Phillips, posted a video on Twitter this week of him working out, clearly outside of an organized capacity. The four-star California cornerback has an Ohio State offer and many more after that. The No. 4 cornerback in the nation owns offers from Notre Dame, Oregon, UCLA, Washington and 31 others.

Arizona four-star safety Lathan Ransom posted photos from what was a successful Ohio State visit last weekend. Ransom was also at Notre Dame last weekend. He has interest in several other schools too, including Stanford, USC, Oklahoma and UCLA.

Four-star offensive guard Akinola Ogunbiyi is continuing to receive offers. The Texas A&M commit re-opened his recruitment after determining that he committed early and his mother has begun recovering from a stroke she suffered in 2018. 

Since receiving an offer from Ohio State on Feb. 14, he has received offers from Texas, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma and, most recently, Ole Miss.

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